One of the earliest things that students learn in school is how to read. However, the act of teaching children to read is not so easy. It cannot be taught in only a couple of lessons, and there is no one way to teach reading to all students. 

This article discusses why teaching reading is not as simple as it appears, the teacher’s demands in a classroom, and why teachers are underprepared to teach reading. 

Teaching Is Not As Simple As It Looks

While you may wonder how difficult it could be to teach young, active learners to read, the reality is that it is quite tricky. Teaching reading is a job that requires an expert. 

Reading does not come to students easily or naturally. Instead, it is a complex learning achievement that is acquired through a long process and multiple strategies. 

Learning how to read requires effort and interest from the students, but it requires considerable knowledge and skills from the teacher. 

The Classroom Demands a Lot From Teachers

While teaching in class, the teacher has more than one responsibility. Not only must the children be exposed to a variety of texts and books that develop their reading skills, but they must also be having fun and be constantly stimulated. 

There are many students in a class, and all of them are different from one another. The teacher must make sure that she is instructing in a clear and comprehensible way to all students. At the same time, all students must have fun and enjoy learning. 

As stated before, all students are different. Therefore, they need individualized feedback. Teachers must ensure every student’s progress and give corrective feedback, select examples to help visualize discussed concepts, and explain new ideas in several ways to make sure all students are on the same page.

Why Teachers Are Underprepared To Teach Reading

While a new teacher may be motivated and genuinely excited to teach their students how to read, teaching reading requires practice. The expertise needed to teach reading can only be gained through experience. 

However, the sad state of affairs is that most prospective teachers only offer a single course in reading methods. No matter how good the course might be, it cannot adequately prepare the teacher to teach reading. 

A teacher must know the language, the techniques of lesson delivery, reading psychology, children’s literature, among other things. 

Concluding Thoughts

Teaching reading is considered to be an easy task. This is why new teachers are conveniently given the task of teaching students how to read. However, teachers must be thoroughly trained to deliver competent reading instruction.